Nightmare Theater - The Hottest Films in Horror, Sci-Fi and Cult Cinema # 4

This month features more Asian Horror Cinema!
And you know I like em strange so let's get right to it.

Uzumaki

 Based on the Junji Ito Manga, "Uzumaki" is a darkly comedic Alice in Wonderland; only instead of entering through the looking glass into another world, another world seems to be entering the small town of Kurouzu through a growing number of "Spirals" creating bizarre obsessions, Medusa-like hair, and insects crawling into people's ears and settling in the inner cochlea to transmit hallucinations. Yes, all that and more...

This is beautifully shot and immensely odd. While not a violent film it does have a certain amount of gore that is fairly original in its delivery as the final results of some of the odd obsessive and eccentric behavior elicited by this inexplicable spiral curse. If you think it is cool in it's own right, I had a cool sync experience watching the film while listening to the first album by Fantomas !

With or without the audio augmentation, I rate this unique film 5 Skulls!

~

Living Hell aka Iki-jigoku

Sometimes referred to as "Japanese Chainsaw Massacre"!
By Shugo Fujji

Only instead of a man in a skin mask with a chainsaw we have a granny who is creepy and enjoys torturing her crippled relative, Yasu (Hirohito Honda)  with a taser. The reviews on this film are often mixed, and while it is an obvious homage to the Tobe Hooper classic original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" it certainly doesn't steal the show from its predecessor. That said, the Japanese have an interesting flair to put on just about anything and this is no exception. The cold cruel Grandmother and Grand daughter team are delightful. And you just gotta wonder when poor Yasu is gonna get a break!
I liked this film, It's got some character, but being a"take-off" of another classic original, I can only give it 3 Skulls.

~

Gozu

A Takashi Miike Film

Merely mentioning the name Takashi Miike certifies that the movie you are about to see will probably not be like many other films you have seen. "GOZU" or ("Grand Theatre of Perversion and Fear: Cow's Head") as it's longer full title translates, is a Yakuza horror flick that would make David Lynch stand up and take notice! It has a strange over-arching philosophical vibe that creeps throughout the work similar to a Jodorowsky film, but in the end this is classic Miike all the way! A positive reception at Cannes Film Festival in 2003 assured that this bizarre film got a theatrical release (well not in the States, but...)

4 Skulls for this creative Miike film!

 ~

All for now, Till next time...

May all your Nightmares be cinematic:)

Nightmare Theater - The Hottest Films in Horror SciFi, & Cult Cinema

I am happy to present a new feature here at Nightmare Sound Laboratory! In case you haven't guessed it by now, I sort of have a thing for Horror movies, as well as Sci-Fi, Cult, Asian Cinema and, well, just movies in general. As such I have a collection of over a thousand films, including many obscure titles. From "so bad it's good" to "so good it's terrifying" and everything in-between, I'd like to present some of my favorite picks in this feature I call "Nightmare Theater". I won't be doing reviews here 'per se', but I will present some recommendations and sufficient description to solve your movie night dilemmas. The hottest picks from my private collection, rated on a scale of 1 to 5 skulls.

Today's picks are from my Asian Cinema collection. Here are a couple of my all time favorites and definitely amongst some of the wildest films out there!

Hellevator

"Hellevator" or ("The Bottled Fools") the 2004 Japanese film written and directed by Hiroki Yamaguchi is definitely NOT for the kiddies:) It is gruesome, freakish, post-Apocalyptic cyber-punk in an elevator. This film makes M. Night Shamylan pee his bed while David Lynch laughs about it. It's weird, it's tense, and it's everything I love in a film. "A Clockwork Orange" get's stood on it's head, crammed through "1984" and dropped in to a brave New Tokyo most of which occurs while a group of strangers are trapped on an elevator with dangerous prisoners. Bored with "regular" old movies? THIS IS A MUST SEE FILM! Five Skulls!

Save the Green Planet

"Save the Green Planet" (2003) is a Korean film from the mind  writer/director Joon Hwang-Jang. This Dark Comedy lives up to both characteristics to the highest degree. Again, this film is NOT for children, nonetheless it can be both heartwarming AND horrifying in the same moment. Byeong-gu (Ha-kyun Shin) suspects his boss is an Alien. With the help of his adorable hapless, naive but loyal girlfriend Kang Man-shik (Yun-shik Baek) they go to extreme measures to save the world from invasion! Madcap creepy fun! 5 Skulls!

Volcano High 

Another splendid Korean film by Director Tae-gyun Kim, "Volcano High" (2001) is a fun high flying fantasy FX film about violence between rivals at WanSanGo (Volcano High). This is silly comic book fun with plenty of martial arts madness, schoolgirls who kick ass and enough mystic Kung Fu to sooth the Taoist in me. Think Battle Royal but WAY cooler! Exciting cinematography and experimental tones give this a super comic book feel! The film centers around Kyeong-su (Hyuk Jang) a transfer student known for disciplinary troubles, who must unite the students to face a greater enemy than rival gangs. The DVD comes with an English version dubbed by famous rappers (Snoop Dog, Method Man, & others); DO NOT WATCH THE ENGLISH VERSION! It ruins the movie, and whether you like those artists or not, the dubbing is sub par and the entire flow and vibe of the film is lost. There is also something about the nature of the Korean language that is so critical to the actors' performances. Definitely watch the Korean version with English subtitles. You won't regret it! You guessed it: 5 Skulls!

These are three of my all time favorites so we got 15 Skulls up on the trophy wall!

Nothing like watching a good film with some great fiends!

That's all for now,  till next time at Nightmare Theater,

Beast Wishes,

T.Reed - Composer @TAOXproductions

http://www.taoxproductions.com http://www.imdb.me/treed

Guns, Girls, and Giant monsters - Assault Girls - Another Mamoru Oshii TKO

I think I love this movie and I haven't even seen it yet.

Here's why:

Did I mention, this movie has it all! The 3 Gs: Guns, Girls, and Giant Monsters. Don't know that I need to say more, but for those that need convincing, take into account that it is a Mamoru Oshii film ( The same guy responsible for the groundbreaking "Ghost in the Shell", Avalon, and perhaps less well known, but no less intriguing and bizarre "The Red Spectacles" (1987). The music was done by Kenji Kawai. http://www.kenjikawai.com

In case you are not convinced yet:

Check out the trailer:

"Assault Girls" is scheduled for a 12/19/09 Japanese release. I can't wait to get it here!

Horror and SciFi writer, Robert Hood usually beats me to the punch on these hot new films, I just toss one or two in that really strike my fancy. You can check out his fine blog @ http://undeadbrainspasm.blogspot.com

Happy Halloween

Nightmare Sound Lab and TAO X Productions will be back shortly with
more music , film, art and all around fun Monster Creep stuff!
Recuperating from a frantic sleepless week of Dialog, Music,
Foley and Sound FX recording, editing and mixing for a short film called
“Four Cups of Joe”,
destined for the film festival circuit!
Be back after a day of sleep or so;)
Best,
T.Reed - TAO X Productions ~ Nightmare Sound Lab

He's back...

Yeah, I disappeared there for a couple weeks;)
This is turning out to be a very busy Summer indeed.
In addition to all the music projects I have culminating simultaneously, I am also working on a screenplay for (oddly enough) an dark action comedy with a writing partner in San Francisco. Over the several weeks I have been in the process of making revisions in preparation for some film festivals. My writing partner produced an independent film for director Adam Orman last year called Fifth Form. (Sorry, again NOT a horror film at all) BUT... Fifth Form was accepted and will be screening next at:

Indiefest USA (Anaheim). AMC Downtown Disney, Thurs. Aug 27, 10pm

More to the point...We have a very close to solid new script/screenplay available to pitch by the week of the festival. We are working towards developing this screenplay into a new independent film, even as the script is being completed and fine tuned. I will announce more about this project when I can. After the fest I will be back to more horror oriented subjects, Rise of the Retrobots updates and other project news. Till then I will be busy doing all the screenwriting/editing I can. I'll still try and stab in article or two in between :)
T. Reed - TAO X Productions - Nightmare Sound Laboratory

Rise of the Retrobots Update and blog notes

Rise of the Retrobots Update for 07/10/09

Greetings Robot, Monster, and Music Freaks & Connoisseurs,
This update is a personal note to inform everyone of the status of the Rise of the Retrobots project, The Monster Makers Lab and the Nightmare Sound Blog.
I have received several excellent contacts with interested Artists some of whom are busy working hard and some even having already submitted tracks which have proven qualified to be eligible for selection.
All three of these projects were launched simultaneously this June (2009) in a fit of ambition and artistic passion. There are still some communication and networking structures I need to establish to make this easier for me to communicate with all participants (and potential participants and sponsors) so that I don't have to spend all my time re-iterating the same ideas via different forums/formats and individual emails. So bear with me and please participate in the alignment as the infrastructure gets molded to make this all smooth and easy.
What is in place currently is as follows:

I have already established a decent FTP solution for submissions, important file exchanges, and
Artists who want to collaborate. The details of which will be provided as I get contact from the individual Artists.
To help centralize communications, please send all correspondence and inquiries to:
retrobots@nightmaresound.com

Postings of latest news and instructions on compilation project are available at:
RISE OF THE RETROBOTS OFFICIAL SITE UPDATES
http://nightmaresoundlab.blogspot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/monstermakerslab/

In addition to some duplicate Blog info and updates, some sample excerpts of the types of tracks and other media that will be on this project is available at:
RISE OF THE RETROBOTS on MySpace
(Currently there is 1 sample available: "Kill Robots Rise")...More examples will be added as submissions are completed and accepted.

Because of the greater scope, the uniqueness, and complexity of this multi-media compilation project, I am still in the process of honing down the best system and guidelines to bring everything together smoothly and create an enormously cool project we can all be proud of. My sincerest wish is that all who choose to participate and can contribute a quality piece and/or some assistance promoting the project will be able to use this project as their own promotional tool and have an excellent creative experience.

Of course, all my regular work and pursuit of paying prospects must continue right alongside these projects that I foster out of love for the subject matter and the collaboration involved.
I am currently wrapped up in a critical phase of screenwriting with a partner where some deadlines are involved, so I may be a bit sparse with updates and communications over the next 2 weeks in July, but please sign on to publicly follow the Nightmare Sound Lab Blog to keep posted and informed, and to be eligible for contests.
NEW CONTEST WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON! SO KEEP YOUR EYES PEALED
I will do my best to keep things coming and keepin it fresh and exciting!
Keep those submission ideas coming!
Thanks!

T. Reed - TAO X Productions - Nightmare Sound Laboratory

My Monster Madness & the Book that Started It All!

"A Pictorial History of Horror Movies" by Denis Gifford
Review by T. Reed - 2009

In 1973 Denis Gifford, a British author who wrote several books on the culture and genre of Horror and SciFi, published "The Pictorial History of Horror Movies"( © 1973/74 - Hamlyn).
I received this book as a gift as a kid less than 10 years old, and for years I carried this around , like a sacred tome, studying every word and picture .
From the original dust jacket picture one might get the mistaken impression that this was a book primarily featuring Universal's Monsters, but further inspection proves it to be far more. Most of those dust covers don't exist any more, like mine, they disintegrated. I actually recovered my copy from my parents house over 20 years later, showing the incredible wear and tear I put this thing through.
While most of the photographs in the book are black and white on cheap paper that easily yellowed, there are a few nice full page color glossies, one, most notably a full page picture from a rare and difficult to find film starring Boris Karloff called "The Sorcerers" (Tigon 1967).
The black and whites are easily every bit as fascinating, offering a good blend of images from many classic films as well as a host of rare and seldom seen images, such as pictures from Georges Melies silent films done at the edge of the 19th century, featuring amazingly well crafted demons, devils, skeletons, and assorted fantastical creatures and events, (including one of the first cinematographic ventures to to the Moon). Also striking were pictures from Terror in the Sun (Ungar 1961), and some of the Asian titles very few outside of Japan were seeing i.e. "The Snake Girl and the Silver Haired Witch" , Living Skeleton (Schochiku 1968), and "Horror of Malformed Men" (Toei 1969).
But beyond the awesome pictorial record, there are tidbits of information and very cool and obscure facts about many of the movies and artists we are all familiar with, as well as the many of the less familiar. From Melies to Poe, from "Fiend Without a Face" to the "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" and from all across the World, Denis Gifford presented an intoxicating look into the heart of the Beast that is the Art of Horror and SciFi film-making. To my knowledge, this book is no longer in print but can still be obtained as a used book via Amazon.

T. Reed - TAO X Productions - Nightmare Sound laboratory
http://nightmaresoundlab.blogspot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/monstermakerslab/
http://www.taoxproductions.com